“Stop by the 3rd Floor for Club Libby Lu! It’s just for girls!” the perky salesgirl said as we walked in, shoving a flyer into my hand. Take my advice: don’t--unless, by chance, your 3-12 year-old girl is in dire need of a cheesy makeover. Seriously. Look at these girls. All lined up like mail order brides. I don’t know if it was the sight of four-year-olds putting on makeup and hair extensions or kindergarteners getting manicures that did it, but my daughter and I ran screaming from Club Libby Lu. (She's a tomboy. My six-year-old wasn't with us--she'd be much more interested.)
Of couse, they had lots of Halloween costumes, so your daughter can look like this:
Or this: 
Or perhaps this:
Hot stuff! Isn't that just adorable! Let's dress them up like sexpots!
Blech.
Thankfully, her friend prefers Legos. No problem.
16 comments:
And we wonder why kids grow up so fast?? eww
Ugh, that's wrong on so many levels. Maybe someone was mad that they "cleaned up" Times Square and wanted to promote the next wave of women?
I dread, dread, dread this part of motherhood. You can do your best but you can only control the outside influences to a point.
Wow, I'm flabberghasted. Why must young girls be "pushed" to beauty and fanciness? Can't we let them enjoy Sesame Street and stuffed animals for a bit longer, and let them discover make-up and hair on their own, when they're, like, 12? It makes me sad to think my own daughters (who already love lip gloss and pretty dresses) could come to think stuff like this Libby Lu or whatever is all that makes a girl beautiful.
Our 5-year-old neice was here yesterday, playing dress up with our daughters. I overheard her ask my 3-year-old, "Do you wanna look hot like me?" I can't tell you how much that burns me.
Had to come back and say...
I have NickJr playing on tv for my littlest. Commercials are playing, and Maria Menounos just came on, saying something about "sexy hair" for one of the shampoo companies. On NickJr! Between Dora and Diego! There's something wrong with this society. Yeah, I could just turn the tv off, but I shouldn't have to during a.m. preschool cartoons.
I'm sure they are "pushed" into it because there is a huge market for it. Which, of course, makes it more difficult to avoid.
And I think I'd rather a curse word come out of my kid's mouth than to hear her refer to herself as "hot."
Not that I want my kids to curse.
Oh my. As the father of a 12-year-old girl, I am preparing to go hide in the basement for the next five years. The other day, I heard her use the term "hot guys" and nearly fainted. Good lord, when did THAT happen???
Brian--Nah, just keep HER in the basement. Or maybe that's a little harsh. A convent, then.
That's my plan.
All I can say is, thank god I've got boys! Before we had kids, my husband and I both wanted girls. If what they say is true: you only get what you can handle, then it's clear why we had boys. I definitely couldn't handle having teenage girls in this day and age. I'm in awe of all the parents dealing with the feminine mystique in 2008. Best of luck to you all!
You are so right. My daughter is turning 11 and "Libby Lu" is the new place to go in the mall. We haven't been there yet, but thanks to your warning, I think we'll steer clear! Have you subscribed to New Moon magazine? (a good antidote)
Whatever happened to Geoffrey the Giraffe stuff, and "I wanna be a Toys 'R' Us Kid?" Oy.
I haven't seen New Moon magazine--I'll check it out. Thanks.
I think Geoffrey the Giraffe was bitch-slapped by a Bratz doll, and is cowering in a corner somewhere.
Ugh. It's Hannah Montana, I tell you. It is.
And to think, when I was a little girl, I only wanted to dress up like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Michaelangelo.
Yuck, this is when I'm glad I have boys!
Very good rant. I agree. Young girls are so pressured by our society to become sex objects. As a father of three girls, this kind of stuff saddens me greatly.
Yikes! That's one of the things I'd dread having a daughter. Raising boys seems so much les complicated. (not that I have any of those yet either!) I live around the corner from the American Girl store in Chicago, where moms and daughters line up to have tea parties with their dolls and go to a salon to get their dolls' hair done! I'd never seen anything like it. It does seem wholesome in comparison to this line though!
It only gets worse when we girls become adults. As I shopped for my own Halloween costume this year, everything for women was sexy. Sexy Mechanic...Hot Vice Presidential Candidate...Smokin' Police Lady.
I'm thinking about dressing up as an asexual potato in protest.
Melody Platz
www.writerscomfycorner.com
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